Transcriptomic profiling of pancreatic stellate cells and pancreatic cancer cells in a gemcitabine-driven tumor-stroma supernatant transfer model

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is characterized by extensive tumor-stroma interactions that influence disease progression and therapy response. To investigate transcriptional changes associated with chemotherapy-induced tumor-stroma signaling, RNA sequencing was performed in a supernatant transfer system. Murine pancreatic cancer cells (KPC4) were treated with gemcitabine, and supernatants from gemcitabine-treated or vehicle-treated tumor cells were transferred to murine pancreatic stellate cells (PSC4). In a second experiment, supernatants from PSC4 cells previously exposed to tumor cell supernatants were transferred back to pancreatic cancer cells. RNA sequencing was performed to characterize gene expression changes associated with chemotherapy-induced tumor-stroma communication.